Your Guide to Diving in Apo Reef

Apo Island

This is not to be confused with the other Apo Island, south of Dumaguete in southern Negros. This Apo Island is identifiable by its lighthouse and is the largest in Apo Reef. A deep, and glorious channel separates the island from the reef.
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Southeast Point
Descending down a mooring line you will reach the drop-off where currents collide. This often means there is a swirling mass of food for the many fish that gather here. Normally this includes schools of surgeonfish and jacks, plus some sizeable groupers and tuna. Morning dives tend to be the best as there are highern umbers of fish then. After taking in the fish-rich scene for a while, the dive normally proceeds with a nice relaxed drift. The lip of the wall is about 16m deep so you can follow it along taking in the sights like turtles, sweetlips, plus whitetip and grey reef sharks. If your luck is in there may be some ray action, as manta rays and mobula rays are encountered with reasonable regularity.

North Wall
As your dive boat approaches this site it will come to a stop near where the reef is almost breaking the surface and the surge causes a white water disturbance. After rolling in you will sink to the end of the reef which drops into the abyss. In shallower areas many reef fish are present including damselfish, butterflyfish and batfish as well as a variety of surgeonfish species. Schools of fusiliers often dash around near the top of the wall. If you wish to go deep this is a good site for it. You will increase your chances of seeing sharks that tend not to visit the shallows, such as threshers and hammerheads. The latter are are more likely to be seen in the November to March period, when water temperatures are lower.

Aladdin
If your wish is to see distinct schools of fish swirling all around you then this site will grant it! Aladdin is a fantastic wall in the northern side of Apo Island. You will normally begin this dive at the section of the wall that is the most sheer, being met by a marauding school of bumphead parrotfish, crunching and munching the coral to a fine sand. Schools of fish enter stage left and right here and spin above your head. Jacks, barracuda, snapper, big-eye trevally and blue-dash fusiliers can all be seen, sometimes in dizzying numbers. As with much of the diving in Apo Reef, it is worth finning out into the blue in an effort to spot a few adrenalin-spiking pelagics. Although Apo Reef is not famed for its macro, the shallow reef top is also worth exploring, as you run down your tanks for nudibranchs, morays and more.

East Side
This is a more relaxed dive than some of those around Apo Island. Being on the east coast of the island, currents are mild, if present at all, and there is less obvious marine life action going on. The big aggregations of fish stay where the current feeds them, so on this site you are more likely to chance upon individual creatures. As you gently make your way along this sloping reef you will spot a few interesting inhabitants. You may spy a lobster lurking in a hole, giving away its presence with its long, white antennae protruding. Sandy patches intersperse the coral here and can be home to fire dartfish, damsels, goatfish and shrimp-goby partnerships. Occasionally you might encounter a turtle or some whitetips at rest on the sandy floor.